Tucker Carlson Humiliates Ted Cruz in Wild Exchange on Iran: ‘How Could You Not Know That?’
Tucker Carlson brawled with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and humiliated the senator for old time’s sake in a wild exchange during an interview set to be released on Wednesday.
Cruz joined Carlson in person on the former Fox News host’s show on X, which Carlson teased on Tuesday night. The two men discussed potential U.S. military intervention in Iran as Israel continues attacking Iran’s nuclear capabilities, including nuclear scientists, as well as top military brass. Carlson has cautioned against U.S. involvement, and Cruz has been very much gung-ho on joining Israel’s war.
Israel, which possesses unacknowledged nuclear weapons, has said it is seeking to end Iran’s nuclear program, which Iran says is for civilian purposes. Cruz and some other Republican lawmakers have suggested that President Donald Trump go as far as overthrowing the Iranian regime.
Here is the exchange Carlson teased on X:
CARLSON: How many people are living in Iran, by the way?
CRUZ: I don’t know the population.
CARLSON: At all?
CRUZ: No, I don’t know the population.
CARLSON: You don’t know the population of the country you seek to topple?
CRUZ: How many people live in Iran?
CARLSON: Ninety-two million.
CRUZ: Ok. Yeah, I–
CARLSON: How could you not know that?
CRUZ: I don’t sit around memorizing population tables.
CARLSON: Well, it’s kind of relevant because you’re calling for the overthrow of the government.
CRUZ: Why is it relevant, whether it’s 90 million or 80 million or 100 million? Why is that relevant?
CARLSON: Well, because if you don’t know anything about the country–
CRUZ: I didn’t say I don’t know anything about the country.
CARLSON: Ok, what’s the ethnic mix of Iran?
CRUZ: They are Persians and predominantly Shia–
CARLSON: What percent?
CRUZ: Ok, this is cute. Ok–
CARLSON: You don’t know anything about Iran. So, actually, the country–
CRUZ: Ok, I am not the Tucker Carlson expert on Iran, who says–
CARLSON: You’re a senator who’s calling for the overthrow of the government and you don’t know anything about the country!
CRUZ: No, you don’t know anything about the country. You’re the one who claims they’re not trying to murder Donald Trump.
CARLSON: No, I’m not saying that.
CRUZ: You’re one who can’t figure out if it was a good idea to kill General Soleimani, and you said it was bad.
CARLSON: You don’t believe they’re trying to murder Trump–
CRUZ: Yes, I do!
CARLSON –because you’re not calling for military strikes against them in retaliation. And if you really believe that–
CRUZ: We’re carrying out military strikes today.
CARLSON: You said Israel was.
CRUZ: Right, with our help. I said “we.” Israel is leading them, but we’re supporting them.
CARLSON: Well this, you’re breaking news here because the U.S. government last night denied – the National Security Council – spokesman Alex Pfeiffer denied on behalf of Trump that we were acting on Israel’s behalf in any offensive capacity at all.
CRUZ: No, we’re not bombing them. Israel’s bombing them.
CARLSON: You just said “we” were.
CRUZ: We are supporting Israel–
CARLSON: This is high stakes. You’re a senator. If you’re saying the United States government is at war with Iran right now, people are listening.
Some may be surprised that Cruz sat down with Carlson after their infamous exchange in January 2022 on Fox News, where Carlson blasted the senator for previously calling the Jan. 6 insurrection “a terrorist attack.”
“I just don’t believe you,” Carlson told him at one point after Cruz admitted to “sloppy” phrasing. “And I mean that with respect.”
Watch above via Tucker Carlson/X
